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Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
356
SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS: A SCIENCE FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY
DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY
The Education and Workforce Working Group, with support from an NSF grant, collaborated with
AIP to conduct the first-ever comprehensive demographic study of solar and space physics and related
fields. This included scientists who investigate (1) the Sun, (2) the nature of the region of space affected
by the Sun, and (3) the response of Earth and the rest of our solar system to this space environment. Such
scientists study the predictability of changes in our space environment that can impact life and society on
Earth. They also explore ways that investigating the Sun and the space environment can teach us about
important physical processes that occur throughout the universe. The names of the disciplinary areas in
which these scientists operate include solar physics, heliophysics, space physics, aeronomy, and upper
atmospheric physics.
As part of the demographic survey, a database of individuals and their email addresses was compiled.
This database drew on four sources: the AGU’s Solar and Space Physics member directory, the APS Division of Solar Physics member directory, the NSF AGS list of research grants and proposals, and the NASA
Heliophysics SR&T grant and proposal databases.
The objectives of the survey were to:
1. Establish a baseline of statistical facts about the pipeline in solar, space, and upper atmospheric physics.
2. Identify factors that affect career paths and career development, and in particular determine how
people find their way into solar, space, and upper atmospheric physics, and how they are distributed among
universities, government labs, and industry.
3. Examine the community’s current perceptions about the health and vitality of the field.
4. Investigate participation in programs and projects run by NSF, NASA, or other funding agencies,
and also try to determine what fraction of the community is dependent on “soft money.”
Email announcements describing the survey were sent out to the community on October 6, 2011.
These were followed up on October 11, 2011, with an email with the URL for the survey that went to
2,560 unique email addresses (from the AGU Space Physics and Aeronomy Section, American Astronomical Society (AAS) Solar Physics Division (SPD), Space Weather Week attendee lists, and NSF principal
investigator lists). There were 1,305 responses (51 percent) of which 1,171 were from individuals working
in the areas of solar, space, and upper atmospheric physics and who work and live in the United States.
The survey generated 125 pages of single-spaced responses to a number of open-ended questions, such as
respondent comments concerning factors leading to career success and barriers to success. Some highlights
from the survey are presented here.
Of the respondents, 83 percent were men and 17 percent women. Most were white (81 percent), while
13 percent were Asian or Asian American, with 6 percent other. The median age of the respondents was
51 years, with a symmetric distribution (the middle 50 percent were between 40 and 62 years old). Physics
was by far the most common undergraduate degree (62 percent). For those earning their Ph.D.s in 1999 or
earlier, physics was the most common degree field (40 percent), while the most common degree for those
receiving Ph.D.s since 2000 is space physics (36 percent, with physics having dropped to 27 percent).
Almost three-quarters of graduate student support and two-thirds of undergraduate student research support are from NASA or NSF.
The number of women in solar and space physics is greater than for physics, but women and (especially) minorities remain underrepresented, with African Americans and Hispanics constituting only 3
percent of the community. This disparity highlights the need for more efforts to increase diversity in solar
and space physics. The activities of CISM have shown that focusing on diversity can result in significantly
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
356
SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS: A SCIENCE FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY
DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY
The Education and Workforce Working Group, with support from an NSF grant, collaborated with
AIP to conduct the first-ever comprehensive demographic study of solar and space physics and related
fields. This included scientists who investigate (1) the Sun, (2) the nature of the region of space affected
by the Sun, and (3) the response of Earth and the rest of our solar system to this space environment. Such
scientists study the predictability of changes in our space environment that can impact life and society on
Earth. They also explore ways that investigating the Sun and the space environment can teach us about
important physical processes that occur throughout the universe. The names of the disciplinary areas in
which these scientists operate include solar physics, heliophysics, space physics, aeronomy, and upper
atmospheric physics.
As part of the demographic survey, a database of individuals and their email addresses was compiled.
This database drew on four sources: the AGU’s Solar and Space Physics member directory, the APS Division of Solar Physics member directory, the NSF AGS list of research grants and proposals, and the NASA
Heliophysics SR&T grant and proposal databases.
The objectives of the survey were to:
1. Establish a baseline of statistical facts about the pipeline in solar, space, and upper atmospheric physics.
2. Identify factors that affect career paths and career development, and in particular determine how
people find their way into solar, space, and upper atmospheric physics, and how they are distributed among
universities, government labs, and industry.
3. Examine the community’s current perceptions about the health and vitality of the field.
4. Investigate participation in programs and projects run by NSF, NASA, or other funding agencies,
and also try to determine what fraction of the community is dependent on “soft money.”
Email announcements describing the survey were sent out to the community on October 6, 2011.
These were followed up on October 11, 2011, with an email with the URL for the survey that went to
2,560 unique email addresses (from the AGU Space Physics and Aeronomy Section, American Astronomical Society (AAS) Solar Physics Division (SPD), Space Weather Week attendee lists, and NSF principal
investigator lists). There were 1,305 responses (51 percent) of which 1,171 were from individuals working
in the areas of solar, space, and upper atmospheric physics and who work and live in the United States.
The survey generated 125 pages of single-spaced responses to a number of open-ended questions, such as
respondent comments concerning factors leading to career success and barriers to success. Some highlights
from the survey are presented here.
Of the respondents, 83 percent were men and 17 percent women. Most were white (81 percent), while
13 percent were Asian or Asian American, with 6 percent other. The median age of the respondents was
51 years, with a symmetric distribution (the middle 50 percent were between 40 and 62 years old). Physics
was by far the most common undergraduate degree (62 percent). For those earning their Ph.D.s in 1999 or
earlier, physics was the most common degree field (40 percent), while the most common degree for those
receiving Ph.D.s since 2000 is space physics (36 percent, with physics having dropped to 27 percent).
Almost three-quarters of graduate student support and two-thirds of undergraduate student research support are from NASA or NSF.
The number of women in solar and space physics is greater than for physics, but women and (especially) minorities remain underrepresented, with African Americans and Hispanics constituting only 3
percent of the community. This disparity highlights the need for more efforts to increase diversity in solar
and space physics. The activities of CISM have shown that focusing on diversity can result in significantly